Shirt collar



Sept. 15, 1959. 1.. J. BLISH SHIRT COLLAR Filed July 30, 1958 I f/aiu I /5 l INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent SHIRT COLLAR Lorin J. Blish, Wilmington, Ill.

Application July 30, 1958, Serial No. 752,135

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-137) This invention relates to an improved collar for shirts and more particularly to a shirt collar with which a necktie is intended to be worn.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a shirt collar having an outer wall provided with slits through which the neck encircling band portion of a necktie is passed so that parts of said neck encircling tie portion will be exposed on the outer side of the collar while other parts thereof will be concealed in the collar.

A further object of the invention is to provide a collar which will more effectively function with the neck encircing portion of a necktie to retain the knot of the tie correctly positioned between the ends of the outer wall of the collar.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a shirt collar constructed in accordance with the invention and including a part of a necktie applied to the collar and a portion of the front of the shirt;

Figure 2 is an elevational view on a reduced scale showing the collar extended and looking toward the outer wall thereof and showing a part of the back of the shirt, and

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the shirt collar with the necktie applied, and taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the improved shirt collar in its entirety is designated generally 5 and is of the turned down type including an inner wall 6 forming a neckband and an outer wall 7 which is disposed substantially around the neckband 6 and which is joined at its upper edge to the upper edge of the neckband 6 by a fold 8, as in conventional. The neckband 6 has end portions protruding beyond the ends 9 of the outer collar Wall 7, as seen in Figure 2, one of which neckband ends is provided on its outer side with a button 10, and the other of which is provided with a buttonhole 11 for engaging said button for closing the collar 5 at the front, as seen in Figures 1 and 3, as is conventional.

The collar 5 is illustrated as of the type attached to a shirt 12, a part of which is illustrated; however, the improvement in the collar, hereinafter to be described, is equally well adapted to shirt collars of the detachable type.

The improvement in the shirt collar 5 comprises a particular arrangement of slits formed in the outer collar wall 7 and which extend substantially vertically and are disposed between and spaced from the upper fold edge 8 and the bottom edge 13 of said outer wall 7. Each end portion of the collar outer wall 7 has four slits 14, 15, 16 and 17. The slits 14 are disposed adjacent and substantially parallel to the front edges or ends 9 of the outer wall 7 and the two slits 15 are spaced a substantial distance from one another and from the slits 14, which are located adjacent said slits 15. A slit 16 and a slit 17 is formed in each end portion of the outer wall 7 between the slit 14 and the slit 15 thereof and said slits 16 and 17 are disposed in relatively close adjacency to one another and spaced substantial distances from said slits 14 and 15. The two adjacently disposed slit portions 16 and 17 of each end portion of the collar Wall 7 form a band portion 18 of said collar wall which is disposed between and substantially equally spaced from the asso ciated slits 14 and 15. The collar Wall 7 has a back portion 19 of unbroken construction disposed between the two rearmost slits 15.

An end of a necktie 20 is passed outwardly through one of the slits 14, inwardly through the adjacent slit 16, outwardly through the next slit 17, inwardly through the slit 15 adjacent thereto, outwardly through the outer slit 15, inwardly through next slit 17, outwardly through the other slit 16, and then inwardly through the other front slit 14, all as best illustrated in Figure 3. When said tie end is pulled through said slits so that the neck encircling band portion of the necktie extends around the collar, parts 21 of said neck encircling tie portion will be exposed on the outer side of the collar wall 7 between the slits 14 and 16, at each end of said collar wall and other spaced portions 22 of the neck encircling part of the tie will be exposed between the slits 15 and 17 of each end portion of the outer wall 7. Other parts of the collar encircling tie portion will be concealed under the outer collar wall 7, including a tie portion 23 disposed beneath the back portion 19, tie portions 24 located beneath the strip portions 18 and tie portions 25 disposed under the ends of the outer collar wall 7, between said ends 9 and the slits 14, all as clearly shown in Figure 3.

It will be readily apparent that the engagement of the collar encircling part of the necktie 29 with the slits 14-17 will effectively resist slipping of said tie portion relative to the collar 5. In addition, the slits 14 will effectively function with the parts of the necktie engaged thereby to prevent slippage of the necktie knot 26 from a correctly adjusted position between the ends 9 of the outer collar wall 7.

The neck or collar encircling portion of the necktie 20 can be of an appropriate color or design to conform with the part of the tie which is normally exposed to view or to provide a suitable contrast therewith to enhance the appearance of the shirt collar and attached necktie, due to the fact that the necktie portions 21 and 22 which engage the collar 5 are exposed to view.

In addition, said tie portions 21 and 22, especially the portions 21, will effectively hold the end portions of the outer wall 7 of the collar down and against the neckband 6, eliminating the need for a collar pin, buttons or other means to prevent the ends of the outer collar wall from curling upwardly.

While the collar 5 has been illustrated in conjunction with a four-in-hand type necktie 211, it will be readily understood that said collar 5 is equally well adapted for use with a bowtie, and when a bowtie is worn with the collar 5, the neck encircling parts thereof will be exposed in the same manner as the tie portions 21 and 22 to enhance the appearance of the collar.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A shirt collar of the turned-down type comprising an inner wall forming a neckband and an outer wall folded down from an upper edge of the neckband, said outer wall extending substantially around the neckband and having spaced apart ends disposed at the front of the 3 collar, said outer Wall having a plurality of slits extending transversely thereof including front slits, located adjacent to the ends of the outer wall, rear slits spaced circumferentially from said front slits and from one another and two adjacently disposed intermediate slits disposed between each of the front slits and the rear slit, located adjacent thereto, said intermediate slits forming transverse strip portions of the outer collar wall each disposed substantially midway between the front slit and the rear slit individual thereto, and said outer collar wall having an uninterrupted rear portion disposed between the rear slits and between which and an adjacent portion of the neckband a part of the neck encircling portion of a necktie is adapted to be disposed, other parts of the neck encircling portion of the necktie being adapted to be disposed under said transverse strips and under the ends of the outer wall, and the neck encircling part of the necktie being adapted to extend through each of said slits for positioning other parts of the neck encircling necktie por- 4. tion in exposed positions on the outer side of the outer collar Wall between said front and rear slits and said transverse strip portion, said outer wall having a bottom edge, said front slits having lower ends spaced from said bottom edge, parts of the exposed portions of the neck encircling necktie portion, overlying parts of the outer wall located between the front slits and the transverse strip portions, functioning for holding down the ends of the outer collar wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

